samsgrandad:
truckyboy:
Drivers, Unions, United, its like holding a red rag to a bull, drivers today are so different in lots of ways, we had mortgages back then and lots of hire purchase, even the tv was a rental but we had guts, we fought for what was needed, some of us joined the strike at wapping, some joined the miners for their cause because we all belonged to a union the TGWU if you didnt, you couldnt work, bosses encouraged you too and when you went for a job interview they would ask for your union card and often stopped the dues out of your wages. We know times have changed now you have to write a CV to get a job, got a have a test drive
( assessment ) fill in loads of forms, at least back then we were trusted Hi Mate, got any jobs, yeah when can you start, tomorrow, ok dont forget your licence i need to see it so even the bosses had a good rapport with his drivers was on first name terms all because he had done the job himself, and a driver once on the road could tell other drivers sorry mate i havent done this before or i havnt driven this before and there was always someone to help out and we all stuck together. The drivers today are spoilt with the vehicles they drive no roping and sheeting a lot of loading/unloading is done for them on bays life certainly is a lot sweeter and many have all the comforts of home with them on a night out tv/dvd/laptop, microwave, fridge, luxury bedding etc and i dont blame them , but ask him to unite against his boss, or join forces for strike action and its a no no and there are many who refuse to get out of their comfort to even go for a beer, i had one say to me Im watching corrie yeah alright mate see ya later. We shared digs, 6 - 8 to a room had a few beers and round to the chippie to finish the night off, thats the nights out i wish for but sadly gone, not for the flea bitten pits we slept in, but the comarderie, the closeness of being in the same industry and very proud.
could not have put it better trucykboy sleeper cab’s put an end to this once gr8 job
there never would have been sleeper cabs if the old timers had not started to sleep in none sleeper cabs. you were all at it, sleeping across the seats, putting bits of wood across the door windows, even hanging hammocks of the roof and makeshift beds hanging on chains.
old time drivers did this through greed and pocketed the night out money. commercial vehicle manufacturers realised that there was a market for sleeper cabs and manufactured them. the transport digs were forced to close through lack of income and the rest is history.
the same is happening to truckstops/cafes now, drivers do not use them except to park, and shower for free, they take their own food with them and complain when they shut.
yep, it was the old timers greed which shut all the transport digs down by sleeping in none sleeper cabs. Well done boys.
john787030:
hello all
drivers have to find a way to communicate nationally we need to work together for more pay and better conditions and the respect we deserve as human beings and as professional work force.Employers/agencies are desperate for drivers they pay as little as they can get away with the keep us divided, agencies especially pay different rates to different drivers large companies are trying all kinds of different contracts to trap drivers on low wages or more relevant long long hours.
we should be working together to make it known that drivers will only work for a minimum rate we should be telling them the rates we will work for not the other way round.
we are disrespected by agencies and employers our conditions have been eroded we are treated like second class citizens at distribution centres etc .
we hold all the cards but don’t know how to play them we should have our own agencies to negotiate on our behalf and more union involvement to unite us against exploitation and huge disrespect we are a highly skilled work force whom are treated like scum i can go on and on but is there anyone out there who does not understand what i am saying?your views please.
Every trucker in the country go on strike for 2 weeks and watch the country go on its needs we would be on 20 quid an hour in no time and gain more respect. we can survive without firemen but can we survive without us truckers NOPE.
sweeper1gg:
john787030:
hello all
drivers have to find a way to communicate nationally we need to work together for more pay and better conditions and the respect we deserve as human beings and as professional work force.Employers/agencies are desperate for drivers they pay as little as they can get away with the keep us divided, agencies especially pay different rates to different drivers large companies are trying all kinds of different contracts to trap drivers on low wages or more relevant long long hours.
we should be working together to make it known that drivers will only work for a minimum rate we should be telling them the rates we will work for not the other way round.
we are disrespected by agencies and employers our conditions have been eroded we are treated like second class citizens at distribution centres etc .
we hold all the cards but don’t know how to play them we should have our own agencies to negotiate on our behalf and more union involvement to unite us against exploitation and huge disrespect we are a highly skilled work force whom are treated like scum i can go on and on but is there anyone out there who does not understand what i am saying?your views please.
Every trucker in the country go on strike for 2 weeks and watch the country go on its needs we would be on 20 quid an hour in no time and gain more respect. we can survive without firemen but can we survive without us truckers NOPE.
what would happen if the blokes who loaded your wagon or unloaded your wagon went on strike then? what would happen if the person who made the stuff, processed it and packaged it went on strike?what would happen if all the shelf stackers went on strike 
drivers are just a small cog in a big machine, we cannot work without the other cogs because without them there would be nothing to deliver, we as drivers are useless without all the others
truckyboy:
Drivers, Unions, United, its like holding a red rag to a bull, drivers today are so different in lots of ways, we had mortgages back then and lots of hire purchase, even the tv was a rental but we had guts, we fought for what was needed, some of us joined the strike at wapping, some joined the miners for their cause because we all belonged to a union the TGWU if you didnt, you couldnt work, bosses encouraged you too and when you went for a job interview they would ask for your union card and often stopped the dues out of your wages. We know times have changed now you have to write a CV to get a job, got a have a test drive
( assessment ) fill in loads of forms, at least back then we were trusted Hi Mate, got any jobs, yeah when can you start, tomorrow, ok dont forget your licence i need to see it so even the bosses had a good rapport with his drivers was on first name terms all because he had done the job himself, and a driver once on the road could tell other drivers sorry mate i havent done this before or i havnt driven this before and there was always someone to help out and we all stuck together. The drivers today are spoilt with the vehicles they drive no roping and sheeting a lot of loading/unloading is done for them on bays life certainly is a lot sweeter and many have all the comforts of home with them on a night out tv/dvd/laptop, microwave, fridge, luxury bedding etc and i dont blame them , but ask him to unite against his boss, or join forces for strike action and its a no no and there are many who refuse to get out of their comfort to even go for a beer, i had one say to me Im watching corrie yeah alright mate see ya later. We shared digs, 6 - 8 to a room had a few beers and round to the chippie to finish the night off, thats the nights out i wish for but sadly gone, not for the flea bitten pits we slept in, but the comarderie, the closeness of being in the same industry and very proud.
Ahh, the good old days, before all this modern, fancy, high falutin’ nonsense like flush toilets. How we laughed when someone opened their bedroom window and emptied their chamber pot into the street… 
And how we enjoyed those nights out, down the pub trying to outdo each others’ feats while proudly telling anyone stupid enough to listen that we “never saw the kids grow up, was always off down the road”.
Thanks but no thanks.
green456:
samsgrandad:
truckyboy:
Drivers, Unions, United, its like holding a red rag to a bull, drivers today are so different in lots of ways, we had mortgages back then and lots of hire purchase, even the tv was a rental but we had guts, we fought for what was needed, some of us joined the strike at wapping, some joined the miners for their cause because we all belonged to a union the TGWU if you didnt, you couldnt work, bosses encouraged you too and when you went for a job interview they would ask for your union card and often stopped the dues out of your wages. We know times have changed now you have to write a CV to get a job, got a have a test drive
( assessment ) fill in loads of forms, at least back then we were trusted Hi Mate, got any jobs, yeah when can you start, tomorrow, ok dont forget your licence i need to see it so even the bosses had a good rapport with his drivers was on first name terms all because he had done the job himself, and a driver once on the road could tell other drivers sorry mate i havent done this before or i havnt driven this before and there was always someone to help out and we all stuck together. The drivers today are spoilt with the vehicles they drive no roping and sheeting a lot of loading/unloading is done for them on bays life certainly is a lot sweeter and many have all the comforts of home with them on a night out tv/dvd/laptop, microwave, fridge, luxury bedding etc and i dont blame them , but ask him to unite against his boss, or join forces for strike action and its a no no and there are many who refuse to get out of their comfort to even go for a beer, i had one say to me Im watching corrie yeah alright mate see ya later. We shared digs, 6 - 8 to a room had a few beers and round to the chippie to finish the night off, thats the nights out i wish for but sadly gone, not for the flea bitten pits we slept in, but the comarderie, the closeness of being in the same industry and very proud.
could not have put it better trucykboy sleeper cab’s put an end to this once gr8 job
there never would have been sleeper cabs if the old timers had not started to sleep in none sleeper cabs. you were all at it, sleeping across the seats, putting bits of wood across the door windows, even hanging hammocks of the roof and makeshift beds hanging on chains.
old time drivers did this through greed and pocketed the night out money. commercial vehicle manufacturers realised that there was a market for sleeper cabs and manufactured them. the transport digs were forced to close through lack of income and the rest is history.
the same is happening to truckstops/cafes now, drivers do not use them except to park, and shower for free, they take their own food with them and complain when they shut.
yep, it was the old timers greed which shut all the transport digs down by sleeping in none sleeper cabs. Well done boys.
You talk about the good “old days” when drivers went out and came back when the job was done slept in “digs” 6-8 in a room etc etc.
When drivers where stuck on the Dock Rd at Liverpool or London East India or Tilbury etc for the best part of a week in hope they might get tipped, they more than likely run a bit short of cash and to cut back they improvised and slept in the cab,unlike BRS Drivers who where able to draw cash from the local depot or Transport Association Members who could draw money on a reciprocal basis from other TA Members.
Not always a case of "greed"as you put it.
Sleeper cabs came into being because when the Foreign vehicles hit the UK market “sleeper cabs” where standard and it cost between £800-£1000 more to produce a "non sleeper"for the UK market because they did not conform to the standard production line.
With the increase in “continental” work it was more practical to buy vehicles with sleeper cabs,which eventually spread to drivers on domestic work because it simplified sleeping arrangements.
Worn the T shirt and worn it out
When I worked for Hertz Truck Rental in the early 70’s we had Foden, Daf and Volvo units for rent. The only non-sleepers were the Fodens.
How many drivers of those days would sleep in an AEC or Leyland ergomatic cab from choice?
sweeper 1gg we wouldn’t need to walk out for 2 week’s 2 day’s and the country would be on it’s knee’s rdc’s only hold 2 day’s stock and remember what the gr8 british public do when we threaten to walk out they start panic buyiny so by day 3 you would have your £20 an hour which we should be on but ask your mate’s to walk out with you and they will head for the hills theyre scared witless of those kids in the office with there gameboy’s
waddy640:
When I worked for Hertz Truck Rental in the early 70’s we had Foden, Daf and Volvo units for rent. The only non-sleepers were the Fodens.
How many drivers of those days would sleep in an AEC or Leyland ergomatic cab from choice?
They wouldnt simply because they wouldnt know what they look like or even heard of them.
lolipop:
waddy640:
When I worked for Hertz Truck Rental in the early 70’s we had Foden, Daf and Volvo units for rent. The only non-sleepers were the Fodens.
How many drivers of those days would sleep in an AEC or Leyland ergomatic cab from choice?
They wouldnt simply because they wouldnt know what they look like or even heard of them.
I am referring to those drivers of that time, i.e. 1970’s.
john787030:
hello all
drivers have to find a way to communicate nationally we need to work together for more pay and better conditions and the respect we deserve as human beings and as professional work force.Employers/agencies are desperate for drivers they pay as little as they can get away with the keep us divided, agencies especially pay different rates to different drivers large companies are trying all kinds of different contracts to trap drivers on low wages or more relevant long long hours.
we should be working together to make it known that drivers will only work for a minimum rate we should be telling them the rates we will work for not the other way round.
we are disrespected by agencies and employers our conditions have been eroded we are treated like second class citizens at distribution centres etc .
we hold all the cards but don’t know how to play them we should have our own agencies to negotiate on our behalf and more union involvement to unite us against exploitation and huge disrespect we are a highly skilled work force whom are treated like scum i can go on and on but is there anyone out there who does not understand what i am saying?your views please.
My Views please? You’re a moron. If you choose to work for an employer that pays you poorly (especially an agency), and fails to give you the respect you THINK you deserve, then you get what’s coming to you. Why should I antagonise my employer, with whom I have an excellent relationship, to try and improve your working conditions?
This industry, like most others, is governed by market forces which we have to accept. If our wage goes up, it has to come from somewhere. This cost is passed onto our customer, who will put up the price of the goods he sells to cover it. That means retailers will charge more to maintain their profits, and we end up paying more for everything…which cancels out our pay rise.
sayersy:
john787030:
hello all
drivers have to find a way to communicate nationally we need to work together for more pay and better conditions and the respect we deserve as human beings and as professional work force.Employers/agencies are desperate for drivers they pay as little as they can get away with the keep us divided, agencies especially pay different rates to different drivers large companies are trying all kinds of different contracts to trap drivers on low wages or more relevant long long hours.
we should be working together to make it known that drivers will only work for a minimum rate we should be telling them the rates we will work for not the other way round.
we are disrespected by agencies and employers our conditions have been eroded we are treated like second class citizens at distribution centres etc .
we hold all the cards but don’t know how to play them we should have our own agencies to negotiate on our behalf and more union involvement to unite us against exploitation and huge disrespect we are a highly skilled work force whom are treated like scum i can go on and on but is there anyone out there who does not understand what i am saying?your views please.
My Views please? You’re a moron. If you choose to work for an employer that pays you poorly (especially an agency), and fails to give you the respect you THINK you deserve, then you get what’s coming to you. Why should I antagonise my employer, with whom I have an excellent relationship, to try and improve your working conditions?
This industry, like most others, is governed by market forces which we have to accept. If our wage goes up, it has to come from somewhere. This cost is passed onto our customer, who will put up the price of the goods he sells to cover it. That means retailers will charge more to maintain their profits, and we end up paying more for everything…which cancels out our pay rise.
It’s a pity people didn’t think of this when they demanded higher and higher prices for their houses, they are no better off because when they move then everywhere else is dearer. The same logic applies to most commodities.